12 October 2017

Living Colour - Shade

Living Colour are a band I have long admired, the first I heard of them was during their first run in 1990, with the album Time Up! It is a record that still stands in 2017, containing their biggest hits. They split up originally in 1995, but got back together in 2000. For a band that has been going since the 80's and even if you factor in their break up, they are never a band to be hurried in the studio. It has been eight years since their last record The Chair in the Doorway, with work on Shade beginning in 2010. There are plenty of reasons why Shade was delayed - their own standards, issues with their management, their label, schedules, you name it, it happend. So has the wait been worth while, have all those issues influenced and changed the outcome of Shade?

01 – Freedom of Expression (F.O.X.)

They are not starting the album meekly on “Freedom
of Expression (F.O.X.)”, a song about standing up yourself, making yourself
and how certain organisations are trying to play everyone against each other in
the name of profit and their own fame.It is a brilliant opening, the chorus, the solo, the unbridled sound of
a band on fire is just phenomenal!It is
such a joy to have them back and sounding so strong, it is a great opening bravado to this album.

02 – Preachin’ Blues

Living Colour want to tell a tale of the blues on "Preachin' Blues", they want to explain how it has changed a life for better (or possibly for
the worse). They are destined to travel the world, following their mistress as they serenade the people of this sphere heading through space. It sounds like a harsh life in places, but when the
music sounds so good, it is hard not to fall under the charms of the blues
and desire to become another willing victim.The music is hard hitting, no-filler or wasted energy and performed with pure
passion from beginning to end.

03 – Come On

With the use of effects peddles and loops "Come On" has an electronic
influence, but this is not a sign that the band are changing direction.It is just added to complement their sound
and to show how they can make their instruments sound fantastic with ease.I love this one, it is a strong song and
it continues the fantastic work of the opening two tracks of the album.

04 – Program

"Program" starts with a sample of a man trying to remember Living Colour, trying to think of the name of another
black rock band. But the song is a different beast, one with a specific agenda. It is illustrating how people are being taught to accept only what is presented
to them and never question anything, TV is good and everything is bad and you
should never leave your box.It is a
hard-hitting rock number, one that hits out at a truth which we might not want
to admit to.It is one of my favourite
on this album, just for the message alone.

05 – Who Shot Ya

"Who Shot Ya" is a song about an event than happens with depressing regularity in the USA, where
you are more likely to be shot if you are a Black man than any other
ethnicity.As a piece of music it is a brilliant song with
a powerful political message, one that will have some people living in fear as it is so hard hitting.Others will
sadly be all too familiar with its message, which will bring an understandable feeling of anger.Surely it should not be this way in this day and age, you would hope that it would be
different and yet here we are.The
fact that this song is required in 2017 that makes me ashamed to be human being,
hopefully humanity will move on and learn there is nothing to fear.A powerful message in a powerful song!

06 – Always Wrong

"Always Wrong" is a song about the end of everything, when people are not admitting that they are
wrong and how it can be seen as repression.The riff of this song seems to be purposely designed to be sampled on a rap song in years to come, it is
truly catchy and it gives me shivers just thinking about it.The song just builds on such a simple
pattern, it is fantastic and it never stops giving.It is another tune I love, everything about this is great, but I also
acknowledge that it is another song with a damning message on this album.

07 – Blak Out

One of the shortest pieces on the album, “Blak
Out” is a song that has an apprehensive edge to the words, with great sounding music.I love the way they keep everything simple, but you also know that this number is complex as hell as
well.After all, this is a Living Colour
song.I do wish "Blak Out" was slightly longer,
but it is still a brilliant little number.

08 – Pattern in Time

“Pattern in Time” is a straight out of the blocks, rock number that speeds away
from you at a frantic speed.It has a
heavy little riff, one that is infectious to all who hear it.The notes that Corey Glover hits on this
song are insane, a straight to the point song and it is a great addition to
this album.

09 – Who’s That

Starting with a blues solo, "Who's That" is steeped in such a rich sound from the
very opening, making it hard to ignore (even if you wanted to). This is a song about feeling nervous in your own home, hounded by creditors, repo men
and being unable to keep your head above water with a great of stress about the situation.This song will be one to rock out to and it
also has a serious message, how can this band keep producing so many brilliant
tracks on this album?It almost seems
unfair, but then again – it is Living Colour.

10 – Glass Teeth

“Glass Teeth” is the first song on
the album which sadly does not to reach the same peaks as the other songs on the record, which is
sort of impressive when you think about it.When the tenth track on an album is one that you could either give or take, a lot of bands
cannot make it past track one or two!It
is a decent rock number, but it does not play to the band strengths for my
money.But a below average Living Colour
track is still one you do not mind hearing, even if it is not quite at the same level
as other songs on this record.

11 – Invisible

The need to find sanctuary and a place to hide from the powers that be is the
theme of “Invisible”, which contains a massive blues riff that matches the powerful message of the lyrics beat for beat. The band seem to be taking everything in its stride, sounding as if they own everything in the room with a number that has a huge sound and up there
with the best of this album.If it was
not for “Program”, it would have been
the song of the album.

12 – Inner City Blues

A cover of the Marvin Gaye classic, “Inner
City Blues” could have truly been an original track for Living Colour.It is in keeping with the record, it sounds
so powerful and they truly make it their own.A song that is as powerful in the hands of Living Colour as it was with
Marvin Gaye, with a message that is sadly as relevant now as it was back then. It is one that I would recommend everyone to check out, it is brilliant!

13 – Two Sides

Ending the album is “Two Sides”, the band showing us how humanity is pretty fucked up at this point in time, as we sadly
repeat the same history that our forefathers did in the past.They deliver a towering ending to Shade with this song, one that is created
in passion, anger, determination and from the prospective of someone who knows
the truth.It ends the album with a huge
moment, one that lives with you long after the song has finished, what an
ending to this great album.

There is so much to love on this album, musically this is a good as any other
Living Colour release that you care to mention.It is an album that they laboured over for so long that you knew that it
was going to be fantastic, they could not help but deliver the goods as Shade
sound spectacular.It has some moments
that are uncomfortable to listen to and that is by design, I think those moments are some of
the best on this album as it is messages that sadly still require to be said in
this day and age.Over time, I think
this will take its rightful place as a great album in their back
catalogue, hopefully they will release their next one a lot sooner.
9 out of ten – Almost perfect, almost…..

Welcome to the final round-up review of 2017! Similar to the Round-Up posts I put up earlier in the year, I’m going to be posting some bull...

Translate

Notice to all....

There is nothing to download here - We share no links to free downloads, only to either Spotify, Amazon or the artist themselves. Support the artists and purchase the music, or at least listen to the Spotify link - they do get something from there, even if it is criminally low. All views given on this blog are only the opinions of the person who has written the blog and they are to be took with a pinch of salt. If you disagree, that is your choice, just as it is the reviewer's when they post their thoughts and views. Also, any photos used are from sources such as Wikipedia or Amazon - we aim to get free images where ever possible. All copyright belongs to the person who painted the image, the photographer, the graphic designer, the artist/bands in question obviously and as stated above there is no illegal downloads linked to this page.

If you have any requests for what you would like to see reviewed, let us know in a comment. You can also contact us at iisfoley1@gmail.com. Please note, if we have not replied within 3 weeks, we will not be reviewing the submission.

Album scoring system

0 - This is proof there is no deity1 - You're really are touching the bottom of the barrel with this one2 - If only there was some quality control3 - It could have been a bit better4 - Well it's alright, but still......5 -Not for everyone but played well6 - Now I see where you were going, but it's not quite there7 - This is good and well worth a check8 - Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my money, time and heart9 - Almost perfect....Almost10 - This is proof there is a deity(For albums that are too crazy to be marked)Crazy Cat symbol - This album cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens

Singles/EP Marking System

0 - Only to be listened to by people bless with the gift of being deaf1 - Not so much on the bad that it is bottom of the barrel, but it can see the stuff down there2 - Not bad, not good - so average it is Zen3 - Decent, getting there4 - This is really good, well worth checking out5 - I wish I had extra ears to love this more(For Singles/EPs that are too crazy to mark)Crazy Cat symbol - This release cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens